Breaking Point
by TheLegacyHero
Summary: The last of my Thrawn mini-trilogy. Breaking Point picks up where Decisive Point left off. Grand Admiral Thrawn arrives at Endor to save the Empire, only to stumble across a plot to place the Imperial leadership in the hands of a dangerous man as cunning and ruthless as Thrawn. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**Breaking Point**

_One Star Destroyer, no one man, will change the fate of the Empire. And that man was Grand Admiral Thrawn_.

Or so Captain Parck thought. He gazed out the viewport watching the blue coronal mist of hyperspace swirl around the Imperial Star Destroyer _Admonitor_ as it desperately raced to the Endor system. The warship had been pushing past its point four cruising speed to point four-five, and after a day of sustaining such a speed, Parck could feel a slight shudder in the hull of the ship. Reflexively, he curled his fists, saying a silent prayer to the Force that his ship wouldn't fly apart.

Grand Admiral Thrawn had emphasized the amount of time wasted fighting Nuso Esva and his allies in the last battle, even going as far as to suggest that the ambush had been staged to keep them from making it to the Death Squadron Fleet in time. He believed that the precious hours they lost could be the difference between victory and defeat at Endor. Parck didn't think much of the comment…that was until the Grand Admiral gave the order to push the Star Destroyer at point four-five. Apparently, Thrawn was serious.

He glanced at his watch. Oh-eight-hundred. Which meant…

The bridge door slid open. "Good morning, Captain," Thrawn said briskly, striding over to the Imperial Captain. "Any report from Nirauan?"

"No, sir, not yet," Parck replied. Admiral Niriz was supposed to send any information regarding the Endor battle straight to the _Admonitor_ via hyper-comm. A battle which could very well be underway at this very moment. Or already over. Yet, Niriz had been silent so far. Either he was preoccupied with Nuso Esva, or Coruscant hadn't received any word from Endor.

_Sometimes_ he thought _the silence is the worst part of any battle._

Turnover began promptly at oh-eight-hundred. As Captain Parck watched his bridge officers change duty at their respective stations, he couldn't help but feel an eerie silence aboard the bridge. It must be the calm before the storm.

"You seemed distressed, Captain," Thrawn said. "The Endor battle I presume?"

"Yes, sir," said Parck turning to look directly at the piercing red eyes. "I was wondering if Nuso Esva was successful in delaying us from reaching Endor in time." He arched his eyebrows. "If the battle was more than an ambush that is."

"Oh, the battle was indeed a delay tactic," Thrawn said grimly. "I'm absolutely sure of it."

"Why is that, Admiral?" Parck asked.

"Because," Thrawn answered, his tone becoming more conversational, "Nuso Esva didn't plan the ambush. The attack was too swift, too foolish, and too easy to repel." He turned and faced the viewport gazing off into hyperspace. "Esva had no intention of destroying us, Captain. Therefore, we can deduce that his real reason was to keep us from reaching Endor until it was too late."

The Grand Admiral had a point. "But how did Esva know when was the right time to leave?" Parck asked. "And more importantly, how did he acquire the information that the Rebel Alliance was planning an attack on Endor? And another question. How did he figure out the timetable of the assault?"

Grand Admiral Thrawn's eyes glittered. "There are only two possibilities: either Warlord Esva has a secret connection to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant like Delta Source. Or, an Imperial tipped him off."

"An Imperial working with the enemy?" Parck gasped. "That's insane! Th-that's-"

"Treason?" Thrawn finished. "It most certainly is." He turned to look at Parck. "But I can think of no other possibility. It had to be an Imperial." He paused for a second glancing down at the floor tiles briefly. "Do you remember those Dreadnought assault carriers we faced in the Nirauan system?"

"Of course," the Captain answered. "They're old rendili-star drive dreadnoughts-" Parck paused frowning. "Like the ones we used to have in the Old Republic," he finished quietly.

"They were indeed," Thrawn confirmed. "Nuso Esva's new ally supplied him with those ships. And this someone is in the Empire."

"Could it be one of the Rebels?" Parck asked hopefully. "Perhaps they found some old Republic warships and decided to aid the warlord."

The Grand Admiral shook his head. "No, it was an Imperial. No one in the Rebel Alliance knows of our little expedition in the Unknown Regions. Only those in the upper echelons of the Empire new the coordinates of our forces."

Before the Captain could enquire any further, the navigation computer light flashed and the warning signal on the comm board pinged. "Dropping out of lightspeed," the helm officer announced "in three…two…one…mark…"

And abruptly the starlines turned back into stars as the _Admonitor_ dropped out of hyperspace. The Star Destroyer's quiet shudder finally calmed down, which eased the Captain's mind. Until he saw what was dead ahead of the _Admonitor_. For a few seconds the bridge officers adjusted their vision as they got used to being back in real space. Then, the gasps and shocks of awe sounded throughout the room.

They were too late. The _Admonitor_ had dropped out of lightspeed right in the middle of a ship graveyard. For a few moments the bridge officers and crewers stood out of their seats in ghostly silence.

"To your stations!" Captain Parck snapped. "Red alert! All hands to battle stations! All senior officers to the bridge!"

"Stand down from General Quarters," Grand Admiral Thrawn cut in, belaying Parck's order. "Surveillance and search and rescue crews, to their stations, standby to launch the recon and rescue squadrons."

"Acknowledged, Grand Admiral," Lieutenant Commander Storm, the operations officer responded.

Thrawn turned to Parck, lines of tension and stress filling the Grand Admiral's expression. "I'm afraid, Captain, that the Empire has reached its breaking point."

Gliding through the blackness of deep space, the Imperial Star Destroyer _Reckless _aimed its mighty arrowhead shape at the Delta System, and prepared itself for war.

"All systems show battle readiness, Admiral," the operations officer reported. "The strike group is ready to check in."

"Very well," Admiral Niriz acknowledged in his gravely, heavy voice. "Prepare to commence the operation. Captain Armand?"

"Sir?" said Armand.

"Begin the countdown," Niriz ordered.

"Yes, sir," Armand said, and walked to the quarter-size holos of the Imperial Captains at the aft bridge. "Fellow comrades, here are your launch marks. _Harbinger_: six minutes…"

As Captain Armand gave the launch orders, Admiral Niriz let his gaze sweep across the command floor watching the bridge crew at work, and permitted himself a tight smile. Before Grand Admiral Thrawn had returned to the main Empire, he had left behind vital information of Warlord Nuso Esva's bases and a bag full of tactical strategies to countermand the widespread offensive the alien had launched into Imperial territory. One of those bases was located on Delta Prime, a planet not too far from Nirauan. A perfect opportunity for a military strike.

Now it was up to Dagon Niriz, Thrawn's second in command, to carry out the Grand Admiral's battle plan in his absence. And the Admiral would do just that. Hopefully, when Thrawn returned from stopping the Empire's imminent demise at Endor, he would present the cunning warlord's head on a silver platter to the Grand Admiral.

The last of the Captains signaled their acknowledgement and the quarter-sized holo vanished from the hologram pod at the aft bridge. "All ships have reported in, Admiral," Captain Armand reported. "The _Reckless_ is fully at your command."

"Very good, Captain," Niriz answered. "Begin phase one…"

The private ready room door opened, and Captain Parck stepped inside silently wondering which pieces of artwork Grand Admiral Thrawn had chosen to discover the identity of the Imperial would-be saboteur. However, to Parck's mild surprise, the room was dark and void of any decoration, though he could hear the soft violins of a musical orchestra playing in the background.

Thrawn was seated in the command chair, but as Parck stepped closer, the Captain saw that his eyes were completely shut. Was he asleep? Should he wake the Admiral to give him the report? No. He wouldn't disturb him. Parck turned and proceeded to walk out of the ready room.

"No Captain, I am not asleep," Thrawn murmured. "I am simply meditating." Parck turned back around as the Grand Admiral slowly opened his eyes. "What's the report on Endor?"

"No survivors, sir," the Captain answered. "The Imperial Fleet retreated under the orders of Captain-select Pellaeon of the _Chimaera_, assuming command of the fleet after the _Executor_'s destruction."

"I thought Admiral Strage was commanding the _Chimaera_," said Thrawn.

Parck skimmed the report. "Yes, sir, Admiral Strage was," he confirmed, "however, he was killed in battle. Though supreme command rested with Grand Admiral Teshik, it was Pellaeon who signaled the order to retreat."

"A wise move," Thrawn commented. "Notice Captain, that this same officer is the one who took the time to type a dissenting report about the Endor battle preparations. And now, he is solely responsible for saving the remnants of the Death Squadron fleet from total annihilation."

"Most certainly," Parck agreed, shaking his head in awe. Thrawn had done it. Against all odds, the Grand Admiral had predicted the impossible. If only they had reached Endor sooner. Even with Thrawn's tactical genius, the _Admonitor_ arrived too late to even salvage the situation. But at least Captain Pellaeon saved some of the fleet. Now all they could do was put the pieces of the puzzle back together, and hope that Thrawn's brilliance would spark again to discover the identity of the mysterious Imperial traitor.

And as if on cue, Thrawn swiveled around in his chair and pulled up the dossiers of over a half a dozen Imperial military officers and politicians. Parck could pick out a few of them simply from their images. Ysanne Isard, Grand Admiral Grant, Sate Pestage, Grand Admiral turned Grand Moff Tigellinus, Grand Moff Zsinj—

"I've compiled a list of possible suspects that may have tried to ally themselves with Warlord Nuso Esva and ambush us at Nirauan," the Grand Admiral said in his smoothly modulated voice.

Parck scanned the rest of the list, his eyes widening at the realization of the suspects. "Admiral, these are some of the most high-ranking officials in the Imperial Court. It would be impossible to narrow it down to one person. You would never have the resources to uncover the person responsible for the ambush. Let alone the evidence to convict that person in the Imperial Court."

"I know," Thrawn said grimly. "Whoever it is, that person is the one who stands the most to gain from the Emperor's death."

"I'll put Intelligence on it right away," Parck announced.

"On the contrary," the Grand Admiral cut in, "I'd rather this stay between us. We must figure this out on our own. It's too dangerous to let Imperial Intelligence in on our little investigation. We wouldn't want to prematurely flush out our quarry now would we?"

Parck swallowed visibly. He always hated politics. But, it seemed the Grand Admiral was better at it then Thrawn let on when he was in the Imperial Court. How they were going to solve this puzzle, the Captain had no idea. But it was up to him and Thrawn. "No, sir," he said at last. "I suppose not."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The final report came in from General Selis revealing nothing that Admiral Niriz didn't already know. The ambush on Nuso Esva at Delta Prime had ended in an embarrassing failure. The base had been abandoned for some time, and Niriz had drawn upon numerous resources to plan the attack. Six Star Destroyers and their accompanying ships were pulled from their respective territories to participate in the assault with nothing to show for it. Even worse, those same territories were left vulnerable for a counterattack by the alien warlord.

Grand Admiral Thrawn had warned him about confronting Esva head on. If only Niriz had heeded the advice. He hands clenched into fists as he began to lose control of his anger. How could he be so careless? Gritting his teeth, the Admiral forced himself to calm down and sit in one of the conference chairs. He'd be damned if he made the same mistake against the warlord again. This time he would listen to Thrawn and let Esva come to him.

And when he finally would have his ships locked in battle against the slippery wurm, Nuso Esva would finally realize why Dagon Niriz was the right-hand man of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Stretching out on his sofa in the Imperial Star Destroyer _Chimaera_'s Captain's quarters, Voss Parck gazed lazily up at the data cards in his hand and wondered which one of the Imperial operatives was a traitor to the Empire. He hadn't bought Thrawn's story in its entirety, but as usual, the Grand Admiral's logic was precise and calculated. And not to mention the fact that the he was rarely mistaken.

Looking at each picture, Parck recounted the times he faced and talked with each of the suspects, trying to find some clue as to who would dare commit treachery. The fruitless exercise had gone on for about three hours, and Parck was about to turn in for the night. Why Grand Admiral Thrawn entrusted Parck to aid him in identifying the operative was beyond the Captain's reasoning. It didn't really matter though. Parck was absolutely sure Thrawn would come up with the identity before the Captain had even found a clue.

A stray thought clicked in his brain. There was a briefing he attended with most of the people on the Grand Admiral Thrawn's suspect list. The Emperor had gathered some of his top officers together to discuss the final stages of the second Death Star's destruction and the Rebel Alliance's military response to the information Imperial Intelligence had leaked to the Bothans. None of the officers, not even Thrawn, had voiced any disapproval to the plan. Of course, with Darth Vader looming beside the Emperor and given his lethal record for dealing with officers who disagreed with him, it was no wonder all of them went along with the plan.

Thrawn was silent for most of the meeting. All of the others, however, made sure to express their approval and commitment to the Emperor's plan.

Except for one. Parck focused in his mind's eye on the man. He wore the white uniform of Grand Admiral. The Captain had an exceptional memory, and if he could just concentrate a little more. His eyes squinted in the darkness of his cabin. There was something about the figure. The man was quiet in every briefing Parck attended with him. Always quiet. Too quiet…

And Parck bolted up in his bed. Reaching over to the comm switch he keyed in the code for the Grand Admiral's private chambers. "Captain Parck to Grand Admiral Thrawn," he announced.

There was a brief pause. "This is Thrawn, go ahead Captain."

"Sir, I know who the traitor is," Parck spoke quietly.

There was another pause. "Very good, Captain. So do I."

Parck shook his head in admiration. He figured Thrawn had the answer already.

The Imperial Star Destroyer _Majesty_ slid over the horizon of Coruscant, capital of the Empire, and readied itself for battle. The alert sent from Endor had put the entire Empire on the defensive as many in the Imperial Court feared the worst. The last known communication came from Grand Admiral Teshik, who had tried to rally the Imperial forces after the Death Star's destruction.

"ETA for the _Inferno_?" Captain Harlan demanded.

The Ensign at the helm control glanced at his displays. "Thirty-three minutes, sir," he reported sternly.

"Thank you, Ensign," Harlan said before turning and walking across the bridge to report to the officer seated in the command chair. The officer who was wearing the legendary

spotless white uniform of Grand Admiral. "The _Inferno _will be arriving within the hour, Admiral. The rest of the fleet should be here within three."

Grand Admiral Octavian Grant nodded absently, his mind obviously preoccupied by the data card he was reading. "Very good, Captain," Grant spoke, not looking up from the data card. His cordial tone carried the regal air of authority, an authority that extended beyond his Imperial rank.

Which wasn't surprising Harlan figured. The Tapani lord had been surrounded by nobility and wealth his entire life. Raised and groomed to be an elite, Grant demonstrated his superior upbringing with a sweeping string of military victories against the Rebel Alliance, even defeating the likes of General Jan Dodonna, one of the Rebellion's and formerly the Empire's finest military tacticians. That same General had been responsible for planning the first Death Star's destruction.

"Was there anything else?" asked Grant, this time looking up at the Captain.

"Yes, sir there was," Harlan responded. "Why are we assembling a task force at Coruscant? Wouldn't it have been quicker and more effective to have us rendezvous with the fleet and not vice-versa?"

The Grand Admiral looked lazily into Harlan's eyes. "My dear Captain Harlan, what makes you think that we're assembling a task force?"

The question caught the Captain off guard. "W-well, sir," he stumbled, "I thought we would be launching a retaliatory strike against the Rebels. We certainly can't leave the fiasco at Endor go unpunished."

Endor…the place where the Rebel Alliance was supposed to be annihilated once and for all. Instead, against all odds, the Rebels had turned the tables against the Imperials and struck a decisive blow against the Empire. A decisive blow that could very well be lethal. Not counting losing some of the best military personnel and warships in the battle, the Emperor and Darth Vader had been on the Death Star when it blew, and so far, there has been no word from either. Which most likely meant that they were dead, and the Empire was on its own.

A government without a leader was doomed to failure. And to make matters worse, many of the Empire's political and military leadership had gone rogue declaring themselves independent warlords over their regions of space. However, most disparaging of all was the fact that several of the renegades had declared themselves the new Emperor. The Empire was imploding right before Harlan's very eyes.

Finally, the Grand Admiral answered. "Has it ever occurred to you that the Empire has more enemies than simply the Rebel Alliance?" he said still in that lazy, bored tone.

The question caught Captain Harlan off guard. "I don't understand," he said bluntly. "What other enemies could be more dangerous to the Empire than the Rebel Alliance?"

"Why those within the Empire of course," Grant replied with a haughty snort. "Even now we have non-humans climbing the ranks of Imperial leadership threatening the stability of the Empire. The Emperor lost his vigilance in his final years, and look what happened." The Grand Admiral paused, standing up and beginning to pace. He turned and his hand waved out to the stars. "He died at Endor. He underestimated the alien alliance in the Rebellion." He closed his hand in a fist. "We must exterminate the alien infestation in Imperial leadership if we are to survive."

"Is that why you aided the Warlord Nuso Esva against Grand Admiral Thrawn?" Harlan asked cautiously. He was treading on shaky ground here. Grant obviously had humanocentric views, but the Captain never realized how dominating those views were on the Grand Admiral's persona.

The Grand Admiral smiled. "It is indeed. Non-humans are every bit as intelligent as we are, Captain. However, they are unpredictable, barbaric, and ultimately inferior to our civilized kind." His eyes turned icy cold, and his expression hardened. "And they must be dealt with."

"Of course, sir," the Captain replied. Harlan had his doubts over whether Grant removing Thrawn from Imperial hierarchy was the right thing to do or not, but he was a Grand Admiral, and the finest military strategist Harlan ever served. Whatever reasons Grant had for deposing Thrawn, they were good ones. Even if they didn't make any sense. Even if they bordered on the insane.

This wasn't the first time Thrawn had been removed from the Imperial Court. A year ago, the alien had developed a poor reputation in Imperial politics and was easily disposed by Grand Admiral Tigellinus. The result was Emperor Palpatine banishing Thrawn on a worthless mapping expedition in the Unknown Regions. True, he was warring against Nuso Esva, but Harlan would never consider defeating one pathetic self-proclaimed alien warlord to be nearly as important as defeating the Rebellion.

"Good," said Grand Admiral Grant. "Now back to your question. The Rebellion will be destroyed in due time. But I have a hunch that the Rebels will attempt a surprise attack on Coruscant. For that purpose, have I assembled my fleet here."

"Why would the Rebels attack Coruscant, sir?" Harlan asked. "It's suicide!"

"The Empire is fragmented, Captain," Grant answered frowning. "Even now as we speak, the Imperial leadership is unraveling at immense speed. In addition, numerous uprisings by the local peoples on various Imperial planets have cropped up, including Coruscant. The Rebel Alliance will no doubt take advantage of the situation and attempt to surprise the Empire by striking Coruscant." His eyes bore into Harlan's "It's certainly something I would do, and I'd expect no less of my enemies as well."

"Of course, sir," Harlan said. "We stand ready to follow your orders."

Grant gave feint smile. "Thank you, Captain. I appreciate your loyalty. Never fear, for the Nobility shall rise again to claim the Empire. We shall bring order to this chaos and lead the Imperial army to victory over its enemies."

"And," he added softly, "not even Grand Admiral Thrawn will be able to stop us."


End file.
